Antihalation dye Fuji Acros 120

The other day I developed a roll of acros 120 for the first time. The negatives came out fine and it seems to be true that this film retains detail even in strong highlights. I also noticed a nice tone in pure blue sky that I wasn't expecting and didn't know about. I used HC-110E ( "Ilford agitation", 4 inversions at the beginning of each minute), followed by stop bath for a minute or so, followed by Ilford rapid fix for 4 minutes ( also using "Ilford agitation" ), followed by "Ilford" wash method but with 10, 20 and 40 inversions. Finally I soaked it in photoflo for 5 minutes or so while I ran the hot shower and generally got the shower stall ready to hang the film.

With Tri-X, my only other experience with 120 film, the antihalation dye comes out in the developer. This time, the developer, stop, fix and washes all came out clear, but the photoflo step turned purple. My question isn't important, but I'm curious why the dye was not washed off in all the prior steps, but came out in the final wash? Doesn't that seem sort of odd? I was surprised to see the purple tint around the film at that point and was happy that the negatives are clear!

It (like Tmax films) needs more washing than a traditional film to get the dyes out. I think they're sensitiser dyes rather than anti-halation but don't know for sure. You'll probably find the fixer came out pink too and will fade over the course of a few minutes.

If it's still pink, you're maybe not done washing. I suspect that it doesn't really matter too much though - washing is primarily to get the fixer out of the emulsion and I've no reason to believe that is any more difficult than with a traditional film. However, the "Ilford Wash" is really minimal; I prefer to use at least 6 changes of water and about 10 minutes total of immersion. You don't need to be agitating the whole time, just let it sit for a minute or two between groups of agitations to let the dye diffuse out.

Thanks, very interesting! The fixer could have been pink and I might not have noticed when I poured it back through the funnel into its bottle. I'll pay more attention next time!
Edit: and I will take your advice regarding washing!

Last edited by NedL; 11-27-2012 at 10:19 PM. Click to view previous post history.
Reason: add note about washing.

Antihalation dye Fuji Acros 120

With rolls I just rinse a couple of times in drum, then stick a hose with a trickle of water down the
middle of the roll, or with sheets put them in a small archival print washer, then leave the room for
dinner or the news etc. When I come back in fifteen or twenty minutes the ACROS is completely
free of antihalation dye. Never an issue.